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The 2018 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Dr. James P. Allison, a world-renowned cancer researcher from Alice, Texas.

Dr. Jim Allison answers questions at a news conference on Oct. 1. Allison was awarded the 2018 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for launching an effective new way to attack cancer by treating the immune system rather than the tumor.(Photo: Lopez, Monica, )

CORPUS CHRISTI — An Alice native has been working to change how cancer is treated. Monday, his efforts paid off with the 2018 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

Dr. Jim Allison, a world-renowned cancer researcher, received the award for launching an effective new way to attack cancer by treating the immune system rather than the tumor.

Allison, who graduated from Alice High School and earned his doctorate degree from the University of Texas at Austin, woke up early Monday morning to a phone call from his son telling him he received the award.

A video on Twitter showed Allison also receiving a call from former Vice President Joe Biden, who also took to social media to congratulate him.

"I just wanted to congratulate you and thank you for everything you've done," Biden tells Allison during a phone call. "I am so happy for you. You deserve the recognition."

In a tweet, Biden says the award "is a significant leap toward ending cancer as we know it and paving the path to a cure."

"I'm still in shock from getting up this morning and learning this," Allison said. "I used to be a basic scientist learning about the immune system."

BREAKING NEWSThe 2018 #NobelPrize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded jointly to James P. Allison and Tasuku Honjo “for their discovery of cancer therapy by inhibition of negative immune regulation.” pic.twitter.com/gk69W1ZLNI

MD Anderson, where Allison is chair of the Department of Immunology, hosted a live news conference with the Nobel Prize winner.

According to MD Anderson's website, Allison's current work "seeks to improve immune checkpoint blockade therapies currently used by our clinicians and identify new targets to unleash the immune system in order to eradicate cancer."

"We still have a lot to learn ... we need to continue to fund basic research because that's where this came from," Allison said in the conference. "The big jumps come of the basic science and we need to keep that in mind."

Allison is the first MD Anderson scientist to receive the world’s most preeminent award for outstanding discoveries in the fields of life sciences and medicine.